Forevermore
by Lavenderpaw
Summary: The last passage in my decade-long Iron Giant story. The descendants of Hogarth and the Giant must work together to stop the eradication of time, space and forever.


**A/N: **if you haven't read any of my iron giant stories this won't make so much sense.

This is a continuation and finale of stoall myries.

If you have read Ironstone or Where His Heart Is you'll get the jist of things.

**I.** January 19th 1957...

If the ground could have shifted then it would've felt like it'd done so 100 times. If the stars should have entered his eyes and blocked his brain with their light, they would have done so 10000 times. As it was, by the time Jean Jonathan Renton opened his eyes he could hardly believe he was alive.

Not awake.

_Alive_.

"Taylor?" The boy sat up in confusion.

It was more so that his brother wasn't there than he was alive.

"Huh," now it occured to the 11 year old that maybe he should be more concerned that he wasn't dead. The sturdy jeans-and-jacket clad boy looked around the room he was in. It was apparent that must belong to a kid... A really nerdy kid judging from the robot posters and the spaceship models.

Jean got to his feet and noticed the unmade bed. He saw the half open toy chest and other foreign objects scattered around the floor. Feeling a just a bit perturbed, the boy wandered out into the hall. It looked to him like his grandparents' home... Well, his Grandma Julie's anyways. Jean recounted never really knowing his father's side as he stepped out into a hall with pictures about. He squinted at an attractive red-haired woman, a skinny kid and a man who look like a pilot. Nodding with some approval, Jean slowly took the steps so as to see more of the house. It didn't occur to him to feel like a trespasser, it didn't occur to him that this was odd, really, he could've been at a friend's house.

There was nothing here to make him feel unwelcome.

The house felt very lived in yet strangely unoccupied.

Glancing into the living room, he saw that a TV, couch and clock mantel shone light from a desk-side lamp. He looked closer at the TV as he walked in. It was... Very old looking. As Jean looked around he saw that everything was old-looking. He blinked hard and rubbed his eyes, staring rather wildly.

It wasn't because the items were in bad condition, it was because they were in _great_ condition.

Surely very old things...

"Oh, heehee." Jean rubbed his head.

Of course! His Grandma Julie must have brought him to a friend's house. That would explain why he couldn't really remember ever having a little brother: it's because he was still five years old himself and his brother wasn't born yet. That's it! Of course his grandma's friend would never have updated.

They were old, therefore they had a house he would rather throw up in then look at.

Doh! And he had been worried...

Jean grinned a little and went into the kitchen side of the house. Everything was a little messy, as though the occupants had rushed out. He spotted the fridge just as his stomach rumbled. Hmm. Well, dream or not, there seemed no reason that he should starve himself. Jean opened the of course antique fridge, removed two jars, headed almost instinctively to remove a sack of bread from the bread box (he had one too) and went about making himself a peanut butter and chocolate sandwich. He would have preferred a Pepsi, but settled for a glass of milk. The boy sat down at the cleaners corner of the table and really had a look around. Surely, surely his grandma must be... And then he saw the date of a newspaper lying across the way at him. His heart halted for half a second:

**The Rockwell Daily**, Town commissions local sculptor to christen the new park with...

His eyes roved to the side.

_January 19th 1958_.

Jean stopped, his jaw stuttering.

It was then that it all came back to him.

Like a flood light, the 11 year-old recalled traveling to the future, seeing robots, finding out that his great-uncle was a really nice guy, meeting a princess who had never seen children, meeting a child would never been one, Gold's betrayal, The Iron Giant of Legend, Pygmy, Uncle Garth, Ivan, Taylor...

"TAYLOR!" He screamed in realization and ran to the front door.

His face was white in realization.

Gold may not have succeeded in sending them to a point where she could stop Hogarth and the Giant from meeting; but she certainly had succeeded in sending, at least Jean anyway, back in time.

_God_, _will_ I _ever have something to tell _my_ kids_.

**II. **The beachside...

He looked upon her with the love that she remembered. The nearly 40 year old woman had seen the look of adoration beaming from his lit yellow eyes that grew even more as he had lifted her up into the air. Slowly, with just the lightest nudge of light on her eyes, Abba awoke from her half-dream.

She had forgotten about whatever it was she was supposed to disagree with.

Merely had enjoyed remembering her father-

Her eyes flipped open and she gasped.

The sun was starting to rise behind her, a chilly breeze was gently ruffling her long red hair. She looked down at her own hands and saw them for the first time almost. And then... Her hand touched something that crinkled and made noise. The more the sun touched the Earth the more color filled her eyes; green. Green as she had never seen it aside from the robes she wore. It was all around her as she sat up. The ground wore it, it was on rocks in a soft collection, even... Her eyes widened as she took in spires of emerald green fringe. In a daze, her green robe half around her and her feet bare, Abba made her way into the fantasy The Iron Giant had told her. A world of green and wonder.

...

"Well that sucked."

Tress was glad to know that he still knew mid-century slang as he massaged his sore head. Having quite literally had sense knocked into him, any lingering doubt that he was in the wrong century was assuaged upon having his head rammed into what looked a half-finished torso. Something was very familiar about that metal midsection, but he ignored it as he got up and looked around a little office.

Blonde-haired and grey eyed, he fit right in with his surroundings in his spotted work clothes faded in green and gray. Not that he was one to deny adventure but - something in him startled awake and he looked wildly around in fear. Hogarth! The Giant! Jean! Taylor! Pygmy... He rushed around and tried not to knock over the already messy office he found himself in. The 40 year old man was trying desperately not to freak out when he noticed a still image of a lovely woman with red hair on a wall.

"Abba?" He took it off.

Tress had never seen anything like this; it wasn't painted, didn't move on a screen...

But no this couldn't be her, she had bushy red hair while Abba pencil straight locks. He took in with a gulp the wooden objects holding things that Taylor had once explained to him were called books, he of course recognized wood because he had seen examples of petrified ones in a museum back in the city of Zephyr. But these were strange things; a small device that made a ticking sound on the wall, pieces of unmoving objects that were without their protective case... It was a mess to be sure, but he had never... The man moved his hand along what had to be a wood desk, he picked things up off the floor and they made satisfying crunching noises in his hands, he wandered, explored, Tress experienced feelings he had not felt in years as he combed through all of these magnificent items... yet, as mystic morning must turn into dreary noon, the betterment of himself caught up. If what Tress suspected had happened had happened; it was that he and in a innumerable party of people had been transported back into the past after a failed attempt to keep Hogarth and the Giant from meeting. The wonders of the little world completely lost their luster as he sat down and grabbed onto his head. No, he had to find out what day it was, he could not let this not happen! Any of it!

Thank God he had kept up with his English per an excitable Abba and could instantly make out the writing of the flat material that lay on the desk: January 1958. Excitement filled his face. YES!

The Giant and Hogarth had already met 3 months ago!

But, Tress was discouraged to remember, Kina would not come for another 7 years. Time travel was a very tricky thing, he didn't really buy that change one thing in the past and you change everything. Life was a lot more complicated than that. Still, he looked at the sun coming in through the blinds on the window, he had to understand what was going on before he could act further. He stood up straight and walked toward the door; what better way was there then to open up and walk outside.

...


End file.
